What Agencies Want to See From a New Model: The Polaroids, Shot by Shot

When an agency asks a new model to "send polaroids," it isn't asking for your best photos. It wants plain, honest pictures of you today, shot the same way every agency shoots them, so it can compare you with every other model on its board. If you send the wrong thing, you can be passed on before anyone looks closely.

Below is the set agencies actually ask for, one frame at a time. Each image shows the pose. The text under it explains what the agent is checking. If you want the background first (what polaroids are and how they differ from a portfolio), start with model digitals and agency polaroids explained, then come back here for the poses.

The ground rules for every frame

• White or light gray wall, even light. No shadows across the face, no moody lighting.
• Fitted black basics. A plain black camisole and a fitted black skirt or shorts. Black reads clean and shows your shape without pulling attention.
• Little to no makeup. Clean skin, groomed brows, nothing more.
• No retouching, no filters. Crop and straighten. That's it.
• Camera at chest height for full-lengths, far enough back that it doesn't stretch or shrink your legs.

1. The swimsuit profile

I shoot this one first and fast. Plain black two-piece, stand tall, and I'm square to your side so nothing gets distorted.

This is the one most new models dread, and the one most agencies ask for. A plain black two-piece and a straight side profile. Stand tall, let your arms hang naturally, and don't suck in or arch your back.

What the agent is checking: your real proportions and posture, and whether they match the measurements on your form. Clothing hides this, so the swimsuit shot is how they verify it. It's not a glamour shot. Keep it plain.

2. Front, neutral

I set the camera at your eye level and ask you to look straight through the lens. Chin level, mouth relaxed, no smile yet.

Hair pulled back, chin level, eyes straight into the lens. Relax your mouth. No smile, no pout.

What the agent is checking: your face with nothing on top of it. Symmetry, skin, eye shape and bone structure. This is the frame they come back to most, so take your time and shoot several.

3. Three-quarter

I turn your shoulders away from me, then bring your face back. I'm watching for the jawline to stay clean.

Turn your shoulders about 45 degrees away from the camera, then bring your face back to the lens. Keep the expression neutral.

What the agent is checking: how your face reads at an angle, which is how most commercial and editorial work is actually shot. Cheekbones and jawline show up here more than in the straight-on frame.

4. Side profile

I have you turn your feet, not just your head. Hair back so I can show the agent your ear, jaw and neck.

Turn your whole body, not just your head, so you're fully side-on to the camera. Hair back so your ear, jaw and neck are clear.

What the agent is checking: your profile line (forehead, nose, lips and chin) and your neck. Turning only your head twists the neck and gives a false read, which is why "turn your whole body" matters.

5. Full length, front

I step back and drop the camera to chest height so your legs stay true. Feet in frame, arms loose.

Head to toe, feet in the frame. Stand straight with your weight even and your arms relaxed. Hands can rest lightly at your sides or together in front.

What the agent is checking: height, leg length and overall shape, the things that decide which jobs you're right for. Cut-off feet are the most common reason this shot gets bounced.

6. Full length, smiling

Same spot, same framing. I'll usually say something to make you laugh, because a real smile beats a posed one every time.

Same shot, same spot, now with a real smile that shows your teeth.

What the agent is checking: your smile and teeth. Commercial clients book smiles, so a lot of agencies sort models by how they look smiling. A forced smile shows. Think of something funny, or have whoever is shooting make you laugh.

7. Full length, side

I shoot both sides here. Agents want left and right, and it's the frame people forget most.

Turn fully side-on, head to toe. Many agencies want both sides, so shoot left and right.

What the agent is checking: posture and body line from the side. Same reason as the swimsuit profile, but clothed, which is the version clients see.

8. A real laugh

This is where I stop directing and just talk to you. The laugh I catch between instructions is usually the keeper.

Look away, laugh, move a little. This frame breaks the stiff rules on purpose.

What the agent is checking: whether you come alive in front of a camera. Two models with the same measurements are not the same model. This is where you show which one you are.

9. Just be you

Hands in pockets, look down, move however you want. I'm shooting what you do naturally when you think the hard part is over.

Hands in your pockets, look down, smile, shift your weight. Do whatever you'd naturally do between takes.

What the agent is checking: how relaxed you are and how you move. If you look comfortable, a client will believe you'll be easy to work with on set.

What gets polaroids rejected

• Sending portfolio shots instead. Agents asked for honesty and got styling.
• Any filter or skin smoothing. They'll notice, and they'll stop trusting the rest.
• Cropped feet or a camera held too low. It distorts your proportions.
• Busy clothes. Patterns, logos, baggy fits.
• Only neutral, or only smiling. They need both.
• Old photos. If your hair or weight has changed, reshoot.

Once you have polaroids

Polaroids get you looked at. A model portfolio shows the jobs you could book. Many agencies sign from polaroids alone, then build your book with their own photographers. Others, especially smaller commercial agencies, want to see a few portfolio images as well. Our guide to what agencies look for in a portfolio covers that side, and the comp card guide covers what comes after you sign.

At the Photography Shark studio in Rockland, south of Boston, we shoot clean agency polaroids as part of any model portfolio session, with sessions from $395. You'll leave with the honest set agencies ask for and the styled set that sells you. Get in touch to book.

Related reading: How to become a model in Boston · Modeling scams and red flags · Mother agency vs. sub-agency · What to wear to a model portfolio session